Giant George, verified as the world’s tallest dog by Guinness World Records, died last Thursday, one month before his eighth birthday. The official verification changed both his life and the life of his owners overnight. George held the official record for tallest dog from 2010 – 2012.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce Giant George died on Thursday, October 17, 2013,” his owners, David and Christine Nasser, posted on GiantGeorge.com. “George passed away peacefully surrounded by loved ones … We appreciate the love and support you have given Giant George over the last several years.”

(Photo Credit: Zuma/Newscom)

Giant George, 3 feet, 7 inches from paw to his shoulder; almost seven feet long, and weighed approximately 245 pounds. He was known for his appearance on shows like “Live with Regis & Kelly” and “Good Morning America.”

The Great Dane, owned by Dave and Christie Nasser, was actually the runt of the litter, according to the website.

“Eager to play … this big Great Dane was scared of water, scared of dogs a fraction of his size (including Chihuahuas) and most of all, was scared of being alone”, the site said.

The owners donated a percentage of Giant George merchandise to animal charities and in 2011, donated more than $500 to a Japanese animal shelter after the country was hit hard by both an earthquake and tsunami.

Family, friends and fans have all posted to George’s Facebook page with their condolences.

“Thanks to the Nasser family for sharing him with the world. He will be missed,” one fan wrote.

GlennBeck.com: If you’re a long‑time listener or viewer of the Glenn Beck Show, you know that we have been on the verge of losing our dog Victor for the past few months.

Quite honestly it has been a battle where I have felt like the bad guy because my family has not been able to let go and I have been watching my dog… suffer. And I have stood quietly trying to ask, ‘Please, family, let’s let him go.’ My son and I are going to dig his grave on Friday, and Saturday at noon at our home, we’re going to put him to sleep.

Sunday we decided to do it, and my son, who is 8, took it exceptionally hard on Sunday. I think the reality truly set in, and we as a family cried all Sunday afternoon and all Sunday night. And we were all down on the floor on the kitchen floor sitting right by his spot where he always sits when we eat dinner and read our scripture.

These are some of my personal photos from that time with my family and my best friend, and I wanted to share them with you because Victor has been such an important part of my life and many of you have followed him over the years through the website and the radio show.

GlennBeck.com: Glenn Beck updated the radio audience today on the status of the his family’s beloved dog, Victor, who has been battling health issues for quite some time now. The family made the incredibly tough decision to put Victor down this weekend, something especially difficult for the kids. How did the History Channel series ‘The Bible [Blu-ray]’ help make the situation brighter?

“I want to talk to you about something deeply personal here but also related to the series ‘The Bible [Blu-ray]’. Friday I’m ahead on the series of The Bible because I was asked to review it and we haven’t had a chance to watch all of it and we finished it last Sunday and it still I think has two more weeks to go on the History Channel. And on Friday I tweeted, I don’t even know when it was. I think it was like 11:00 at night, I think, but we had watched The Bible series and I had tweeted something I thought was a funny comment and I said, ‘You have to watch The Bible this weekend because you won’t believe how much the devil looks like Barack Obama.’”

“If you look, if you look at this thing, you just, you can’t deny. Now, did they go out and they try to find an actor to look like him? No. Did he, did he try to make it look ‑‑ no, he didn’t.”

But rather than notice the obvious physical similarities, laugh, and move on with their lives – several in the media decided to take Glenn’s tweet and use it to create controversy around The Bible and its producers.

“Here’s what’s really happening with this. First of all, the networks didn’t want to take Mark Burnett’s show. They didn’t want to take it. They didn’t want to run a series that was the number one show in all of television on the History Channel. It had higher ratings than American Idol. They are so out of touch with you, the American people; or they have such an agenda that they will flush down ratings and connect with actual people for their agenda or because they’re clueless. You decide which is which.”

“Then when it was picked up by the History Channel, then what happens? Then nobody wants to do interviews with these guys.”

“Here’s Mark Burnett, one of the ‑‑ he’s got five, count them, five nights where his shows are number one on different networks. He has five nights in a row, currently! The guy is the biggest name in television and they don’t want to do an interview with him on this Bible thing that you’re doing, you freak. So they ignore him. They don’t pick it up. Then they ignore him. Then it becomes number one and they just do a quick hit on it and move on.”

“And then it fades into oblivion. The ratings still hold. Nobody says a word. And then Friday I make an offhanded remark on Twitter and now the media is in an absolute firestorm.”

“Now here, here is this media so completely out of control that for their own agenda of, I think believe it or not, I think to try to teach Mark Burnett a lesson: Don’t you do anything like this ever again because we’ll ignore you and then we’ll smear you.”

Sadly, the power of The Bible to inspire hope and love through its message has been ignored amid all the controversy. And rather than spend his time attacking the “journalists” who have decided to use his tweet to attack The Bible series, it’s producers, or himself, Glenn decided to share a story that demonstrates why people need to be watching the show.

“On Sunday night we watched the last episode of The Bible. This is the crucifixion and the resurrection.”

“If you’re a long‑time listener of this program, you know that we have been on the verge of losing our dog. Quite honestly it has been a battle where I have felt like the bad guy because my family has not been able to let go and I have been watching my dog… suffer. And I have stood quietly trying to ask, ‘Please, family, let’s let him go.’ My son and I are going to dig his grave on Friday, and Saturday at noon at our home, we’re going to put him to sleep. Sunday we decided to do it, and my son, who is 8, took it exceptionally hard on Sunday. I think the reality truly set in, and we as a family cried all Sunday afternoon and all Sunday night. And we were all down on the floor.”

“Last night we were on the kitchen floor sitting right by his spot where he always sits when we eat dinner and read our scripture. And we all got down on the floor and we read Psalms – not to him but to us. My son was almost inconsolable on Sunday.”

“And we started to watch The Bible, the Mark Burnett show. And it showed the crucifixion and it showed the death. my wife and I were with the kids and we knew what was coming and we knew that it would be good. And my son got off the bed at one point and went down onto a floor where he sat with Victor and he laid on him and sobbed, and petted him.”

“But in the point of the movie where Christ rises and there is eternal life, Raphe turned his head to the television and we began to talk about how we’ll see Victor again and how death is just temporary separation.”

“There are people and forces in this world that don’t want you to believe that. There are people and forces of this world that don’t believe it themselves. They don’t understand the peaceful message. They don’t understand the comfort. They don’t understand the meaning of that one man’s life. Everything to them needs to be turned into some political debate. Because of ratings, everything needs to be divisive. Because of what they believe and because they will not tolerate, they do not believe in freedom of speech, they do not believe in the individual choice, they do not believe in the true message of Jesus, they believe in collective salvation, that somehow or another we all have to save everybody, where we are truly powerless. They will look for anything, anything at all, to divide us, to isolate, to teach a lesson to Mr. Burnett and Roma Downey, ‘You are in a space, that you are not welcome and we will not welcome you in that space. We will ignore you or if need be, we will ridicule you. We will smear you, but we will not talk about the amazing power of a movie that when I was a kid networks would have begged to air.’”

“Because I think maybe, just maybe back then there were a few more people that understood because they had actually seen it in their own lives, the power, of the story of redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life.”

“I don’t know what you have going on in your life. It’s been a hard year for us. The last 12 or 18 months have been extraordinarily difficult. And I’m not the only man who has struggled with the end days of his best friend, nor will I be the last, nor will this be the last time that I struggle with this decision. But we found peace. Even though we have hard work ahead of us in the next few days, we know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

“A personal note: I thank Mark Burnett and Roma Downey for their courage, for their inspiration, for their willingness. I wrote to them yesterday, and I’ll say it publicly: I apologize for being so foolish to think that one can still joke today. Please don’t be lost in the message of the media. If you haven’t watched The Bible yet, this is the most important episode, and it’s coming up Sunday. A vision, a gift that I haven’t seen ever before on television.”

After a heartbreaking tragedy, I swore off owning cats — my little trash-can kitty had other ideas…

Catster: Whoever came up with the phrase "never say never" was a genius. There have been so many moments in my life when I’ve had to eat my words because the thing I swore will never do again happened and made me feel like a total idiot.

This time it applied to cats. I had lost my two kitties to poison — given to them by my hope-he’s-being-attacked-by-lions-in-hell neighbor who decided to kill every feline that walked through his garden, stray or not. The fact that the truth came out after weeks of posting flyers and patrolling the area looking for them made it worse. Not knowing what happened was the worst feeling ever. When I finally found out, I was not just sad, I was exhausted and heartbroken.

It was after that ordeal that a decision was made: I needed a break from cats. No more sweet purring. No more meowing in full sentences. No more litter boxes. Of course all of that is easier said than done. Being cat-less for the first time in 20 years was no picnic. I felt like a drug addict going cold turkey. But it was "for my own good," I kept telling myself.

Here’s another stray kitten I saw by the trash receptacles.

And so it goes that one night after a fun dinner with friends, I was on my way home when I almost stepped on a weird lump on the sidewalk. The next day was trash pick-up day and there was garbage in, around, and above the trash cans, so I thought it was either a discarded plastic wrap or dog poop … when suddenly, the poop moved!

I leaned closer and found out it was actually a very small, smelly kitten. Out of habit, I picked her up. She was probably around three months old. She didn’t meow or try to escape. I couldn’t just leave her there, so of course I brought her home. The plan was to give her a safe place to spend the night and then the next day take her to the vet. I wasn’t violating my new life code, I was helping an animal in need.

I lost count of how many times I woke up during the night to check on her. She looked so sick. Oh, I was soooo not ready for this. I convinced myself that she was probably going to meet my other cats up in heaven soon.

I took her to the vet the next day and explained the plan. They would check her and call me later with details, so I could make the decision. In the meantime, I walked to the office thinking of cat names.

My beautiful Marisol.

Four hours later, I received the call. Kitty was actually six months old, but very malnourished, which is why she looked younger. She did have asthma and pneumonia. But, good news, no life threatening illnesses like feline leukemia.

"What do you want to do?" said the vet.

"Wait a minute. So she’s going to be OK?" Before he gave me the answer, I yelled, "Save her please!"

Never say never? Yeah, right.

That afternoon, I picked up Marisol (her new name) and took her home. I’m not even going to tell you how much it cost me to bring her back from trash-can death. Or how many times I had to run with her to the emergency clinic with an asthma attack. It didn’t matter. I had a new cat in the house. A quiet and sweet kitty. My heart was slowly mending.

With her health returned, her real personality made its long-awaited appearance … and it was a very mischievous personality. No amount of bottle spraying or loud noises could shut down her insane desire to destroy everything dear to me. Using double-stick tape became the only way to save my belongings. She finally learned to meow by hanging out with other cats in the building. So now she had a voice to go with her rambunctious energy, but she was also incredibly loving. She knew just the right moment to come and purr on my lap.

So whenever I feel like my patience is taking a dive out of the balcony, I remember that little, smelly lump on the sidewalk. With my heart full of cat love again, I pick up the broken dishes and smile.

Our sweet little guy, Apachi… a Chiweenie (half-Chihuahua/half-wiener dog or Dachshund), turned 6-years-old on March 28th. Happy Birthday Apachi. He is the sweetest guy, worries about everyone and makes us smile everyday.

Our daughter, who was working at a pet store at the time, rescued him from a box outside the store, where he and his siblings were being given away.

He was quite the character from day one and the total opposite of our papered Chihuahua, Angel, who our daughter also brought home when she was working part-time for another pet store. She spent the bulk of her summer earnings on Angel, whereas Apachi was free.

Apachi was a sweet dog from day one, easy going, patient he and Angel hit it off.

Very long story but through a chain of events before we knew it… puppies were on their way… and then there were six.

Male dogs are not always good with their offspring (some even kill and/or eat them), but Apachi was a concerned dad who wanted to be part of the process, watched over Angel and their pups from a distance (because she wouldn’t let him get any closer in the beginning) and then took over once Angel weaned them and was done. (Angel was a great mom… nursed them for 9-weeks, but when she was done… she was done!)

Apachi with his boys… Goji and Magnum their last night with us. Both went to their forever homes the next day. He spent time with both of them that night, like he knew they were leaving and he needed to give them his fatherly advice. They both went to great homes and we still hear from them now and again.

Although we found one of the girls a home as well… she came back to us because they couldn’t keep her and we asked all the pups’ new parents to bring them back if for some reason they couldn’t keep them… and they did.

Apachi loves his girls… Princess and Angelina. He is a great dad!

But as we all know parenting is a tough job!

These are not chocolate chip cookies. They are doggie friendly carob cookies.

Outing to the harbor with our very pregnant niece… 6 of us and 6 furkids. And our nieces two were in Arizona. The following Thanksgiving we had an unusually small Thanksgiving… 6-adults, 1 baby and 8 furkids.

Apachi (the Patchman) worries and watches out for everyone… his girls, Angel and us. His favorite part of the day is playing with Dad… the only other male in the family. Apachi loves to help and be part of everything that is going on including travel… even though he suffers from severe car sickness. We do our best to keep him from getting sick (liquid ginger root or ginger cookies) and just go prepared for the often inevitable ‘in-car’ emergency. (We’ve taken him twice on a 1,600 mile trip in a U-Haul moving truck… and both times, he never got sick once. We stacked sofa cushions between the bucket seats high enough for our 4-furkids to sit on making them level with the dashboard, which seemed to help Apachi’s nausea and sickness.) Maybe we should be driving a U-Haul? (And yes…I’ve thought about it!)

Save a Life…Adopt Just One More…Pet!

Everyday we read or hear another story about pets and other animals being abandoned in record numbers while at the same time we regularly hear about crazy new rules and laws being passed limiting the amount of pets that people may have, even down to one or two… or worse yet, none.

Nobody is promoting hoarding pets or animals, but at a time when there are more pets and animals of all types being abandoned or being taken to shelters already bursting at the seams, there is nothing crazier than legislating away the ability of willing adoptive families to take in just one more pet!!

Our goal is to raise awareness and help find homes for all pets and animals that need one by helping to match them with loving families and positive situations. Our goal is also to help fight the trend of unfavorable legislation and rules in an attempt to stop unnecessary Euthenization!!

“All over the world, major universities are researching the therapeutic value of pets in our society and the number of hospitals, nursing homes, prisons and mental institutions which are employing full-time pet therapists and animals is increasing daily.” ~ Betty White, American Actress, Animal Activist, and Author of Pet Love

There is always room for Just One More Pet. So if you have room in your home and room in your heart… Adopt Just One More! If you live in an area that promotes unreasonable limitations on pets… fight the good fight and help change the rules and legislation…

Save the Life of Just One More…Animal!

Recent and Seasonal Shots

As I have been fighting Cancer… A battle I am gratefully winning, my furkids have not left my side. They have been a large part of my recovery!! Ask Marion

Photos by the UCLA Shutterbug are protected by copyright, Please email at JustOneMorePet@gmail.com or find us on twitter @JustOneMorePet for permission to duplicate for commerical purposes or to purchase photos.

By JoAnn, Marion, and Tim Algier This past week, we lost our dear family member Rocky who had just outlived his “huep – na-napbdad”, Tom, by just a few months. His perspective would have been interesting!! Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been […]

By JoAnn, Marion, and Tim Algier This past week, we lost a dear family member, Rocky, who had just outlived his “human pet-dad”, Tom, by just a few months. It certainly would have been interesting to know what they thought and what experiences they had had in common!! Just this side of heaven is a […]

Bristol Palin: Fellow SixSeeds blogger Zeke Pipher has a great question: If they were dead puppy parts, or parts from homosexual babies, or babies that self-identified as adults, it’d be a different story. Meaning, it would be a story. But as it is, the fact that these fetuses don’t look like puppies, and their sexual […]

Family and friends of G.R. Gordon-Ross watch his private fireworks show at the Youth Sports Complex in Lawrence, Kan., Friday, June 28, 2013. (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner) Mercury News – Originally posted on July 02, 2013: The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Hot dogs, potato salad and, of course, fireworks. But Independence […]

Very few dogs have the experience of being parents these days and especially seeing their litters through the process of weaning and then actually being able to remain part of a pack with at least part of their family. Apachi is our Doggie Dad. He is a Chiweenie and here he is is watching his […]

By Marion Algier – Just One More Pet (JOMP) – Cross-Posted at AskMarion Anderson Cooper met Chaser, a dog who can identify over a thousand toys, and because of whom, scientists are now studying the brain of man’s best friend. Chaser is also the subject of a book: Chaser: Unlocking the Genius of the Dog […]

By Tamara – Dog Heirs – Cross-Posted at JOMP Quebec, Canada – Animals will be considered “sentient beings” instead of property in a bill tabled in the Canadian province of Quebec. The legislation states that "animals are not things. They are sentient beings and have biological needs." Agriculture Minister Pierre Paradis proposed the bill and […] […]

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Great Book for Children and Pet Lovers… And a Perfect Holiday Gift

One More Pet
Emily loves animals so much that she can’t resist bringing them home. When a local farmer feels under the weather, she is only too eager to “feed the lambs, milk the cows and brush the rams.” The farmer is so grateful for Emily’s help that he gives her a giant egg... Can you guess what happens after that? The rhythmic verse begs to be read aloud, and the lively pictures will delight children as they watch Emily’s collection of pets get bigger and bigger.

If You Were Stranded On An Island…

A recent national survey revealed just how much Americans love their companion animals. When respondents were asked whether they’d like to spend life stranded on a deserted island with either their spouse or their pet, over 60% said they would prefer their dog or cat for companionship!